How Much Cardio When Trying To Build Muscle?
A popular question in the gym is how much cardio should i do when trying to build muscle.
The most commonly asked question I hear from muscle builders is How much cardio should you do when trying to build muscle?…
Well opinion is split, some think it eats muscle! and some even think you should not do any at all
Well let’s look at the facts on how much cardio helps when looking to build muscle
- Cardio is good for your health. It strengthens the heart and helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol — all areas of particular concern for bodybuilders.
- Cardio makes you more insulin sensitive (When done the right way… keep reading!). Your ability to handle insulin is the #1 determinant of your muscle building success. “Smart cardio” helps optimize this.
- Cardio lets you eat more, both dieting and bulking. Doing your cardio allows you to eat more food, which helps keep you satisfied and with a healthy metabolic rate. That means the more effective your cardio, the more you can eat, and the more you can grow in the offseason or stay full while dieting.
That said, when I say “do your cardio” I don’t mean marathon jogs on the treadmill or riding the stationary bike for hours at a stretch…
In fact, Mi40 style cardio can best be described as “short & sweet.” Actually, “short and painful” is more like it. 🙂
What is the most effective cardio
The most effective cardio requires you to learn about your own limits. How hard exactly can you work? The best way to measure this on an RPE scale, which stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion. To understand RPE, let’s use the example of a stationary bike.
Think of a light slow pedal as being a 1/10, and a brisk moderate ride as 5/10. 8-9/10 would be all out, hard as you can go and 10/10 would be that much higher; something you couldn’t sustain for more than a few seconds.
So Mi40 cardio may only be 15-25 minutes long, but in that short burst of time you need to really test your mettle — all the way up to an RPE of 10. Not for very long mind you, but definitely up there.
Why so hard?
Because this is where cardio truly “works its magic” on blood chemistry, cardiovascular health, even hormones like GH and testosterone. Cardio can improve all these health markers dramatically, but you have to reach an RPE of 10, something the Mi40 Foundation program will help you to achieve.
15-25 minutes, three times a week. That’s all you need. If you do it right.
For the full integrated solution, including your lifting, cardio, nutrition and supplements, Mi40 Foundation covers everything…
Checkout the Mi40x Foundation fully integrated physique solution right here